Patent attributes
The present invention relates to a novel lens antenna with a 3D near-field focus-steering capability that operates at gigahertz and terahertz frequencies. The novel antenna includes a pair of discrete dielectric lenses fed by a stationary horn source. In-plane synchronous counter-rotation and co-rotation of the lens pair steers its near-field focus radially and azimuthally, respectively, while linear translation of the upper lens moves the focal point longitudinally. The steering focus beam enables fast imaging. In imaging applications, the radiated beam from the novel lens antenna focused in the target area can reduce undesired interference from neighboring structures and increase the system dynamic range and signal-to-noise ratio.